Back from Shreveport

Five observations from hanging around the Buffaloes for almost a week at the Independence Bowl:

1) Colorado needs to get quicker at the linebacker and defensive end positions. Fortunately, those appear to be areas of strength among the 2008 recruiting class, with oral commitments from several exceptionally athletic prospects. Jot down these names: Lynn Katoa, Jon Major, Doug Rippy and Josh Williams. It may take a year or two, but they will change the personality of the defense.

2) As a group, the outgoing seniors may be the brightest and classiest bunch that I’ve ever covered – and that spans three decades. Hats off to former CU coach Gary Barnett for signing so many outstanding young men.

3) Developing playmakers at the wide receiver position should be an area of emphasis in the spring. Almost every CU opponent had an obvious advantage over the Buffs at the wideout positions. Josh Smith and Kendrick Celestine have sprinter’s speed. But as freshmen they never got into the end zone. Not once.

4) The fact that Cody Hawkins was only sacked one time by Alabama is a testament to the teaching of offensive line coach Jeff Grimes. Even with the departure of seniors Tyler Polumbus and Edwin Harrison, things should get even better. Remember, the Buffs started true freshmen Kai Maiava and Ryan Miller up front, and a half dozen others redshirted. Plus, at least three high-rated recruits are due to arrive this year, including Mullen’s Bryce Givens and Max Tuioti-Mariner of Corona, Calif. Both are 4-star prospects according to Rivals.com.

5) There’s a noticeable difference between a nationally known program like Colorado and a legendary program such as Alabama. For its Shreveport practices, Alabama brought its own officials, security guards and portable scoreboards.

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Trivia question: What do basketball coaches Nolan Richardson, Tubby Smith and Bill Self have in common?

Answer below.

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What’s with the coaches who vote in the women’s college basketball poll? They sure don’t show Colorado much respect.

Kathy McConnell-Miller’s squad has moved up to No. 23 in this week’s Associated Press top-25 media poll but it received just 11 votes in the current USA Today/ESPN coaches poll. Those 11 votes put would put CU at No. 33 if the coaches poll were extended.

The two polls have Wyoming (No. 22) ahead of Colorado, although CU beat the Cowgirls by 14 points on Dec. 5.

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Mel Kiper Jr. said recently on ESPN radio that the three most talented teams in college football, in no particular order, are LSU, Ohio State and Southern Cal.

Of course, Kiper always looks at things from the perspective of potential NFL draftees.

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I can’t recall the CU men’s basketball team being able to count on a foul shooter in crunch time since Chauncey Billups left in 1997. But the Buffs have one this season.

Senior guard Marcus Hall has converted 18-for-18 from the line during the final two minutes.

Buffs coach Jeff Bzdelik joked on this week’s Big 12 teleconference: “It is a remarkable statistic, (but) the way Marcus shoots during other parts of the game … I ought to just tell him there’s two minutes to go.’’

Bzdelik was asked about the best crunch-time foul shooter he ever saw. “Bernard King is someone I was associated with when I was with the Washington Bullets, before they changed their name to Wizards. Bernard was just exceptional at the end of a ballgame. During a timeout, he would demand of the coaching staff to get him the basketball, whether it be free throws or just making a play. His eyes would pierce right through you late in the game.”

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Denver Post colleague John Henderson, who is in New Orleans for the BCS championship game, was traveling on Tuesday and didn’t get to see Michigan’s win over Florida in Capital One Bowl at Orlando. John said folks down in Louisiana told him Florida looked like it didn’t want to be that bowl.

So, let me get this straight. Whenever an SEC team loses, it’s always because it just played poorly or didn’t want to play, and it couldn’t possibly be because the opponent has any talent. OK, I got it.

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After a victory, Alabama fans departing the stadium have a peculiar chant. In this case it was: “Hey Buffs. Hey Buffs. We just beat the (heck) out of you!”

Didn’t Colorado score 24 of the game’s final 27 points?

Makes me wonder if Bama fans use that same chant after an overtime win.

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I’m always amazed at the misinformation and sloppiness I see from some “national” analysts on college football websites.

In projecting the 2008 NFL Draft potential of players in the Independence Bowl, an analyst for one of the high profile sites wrote that CU’s Hugh Charles “doesn’t have elite speed.”

Excuse me? Charles may not be big, but in high school he ran a best of 10.34 in the 100 meters and long-jumped 25 feet.

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Trivia answer: Richardson (1980-85), Smith (1991-95) and Self (1997-00) coached at the University of Tulsa.

That may bode well for the career path of current Tulsa coach Doug Wojcik, who brings the Golden Hurricane to the Coors Events Center on Monday night.